Providing a green lung in the heart of Century City is Intaka Island, an award winning 16ha wetlands conservation area that is rich in bird life and indigenous plants. Formerly known as the Blouvlei, Intaka Island comprises 8ha of ecologically sensitive ephemeral (seasonal) pans, that are among the last remaining of their kind, and 8ha of reconstructed wetlands that serve to cleanse the water in the 6km of navigable canals that link the different elements of Century City. More info here Intaka Website
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With some great weather for a change I did some birding at Intaka Island this morning. I spend about 4 hours and saw 40 bird species. I must admit I spend about 2 hours In the hide, so I most probably missed out on some species. This Is a great place for bird photography and in Summer you will find birds like the Greater Painted Snipe here. My highlight this morning was some close-up viewing of a Little Bittern.
Below some photos I took this morning and the birds seen list.
Birds Seen
Black-crowned Night Heron, Black-shouldered Kite, Blacksmith Lapwing, Black-winged Stilt, Brown-throated Martin, Cape Bulbul, Cape Shoveler, Cape Sparrow, Cape Wagtail, Cape Weaver, Cape White-eye,
Common Fiscal, Common Moorhen, Common Starling, Common Waxbill, Egyptian Goose, Grey Heron, Hadeda Ibis, Hartlaub's Gull,
Helmeted Guineafowl, Karoo Prinia, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Little Bittern, Little Grebe, Malachite Kingfisher, Mallard, Pied Crow, Purple Heron, Red-eyed Dove, Red-knobbed Coot, Reed Cormorant, Rock Dove,
Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Speckled Pigeon, Three-banded Plover, White-breasted Cormorant, Yellow-billed Duck.